Kindergarten Super Tap - Tapestry Charter School

FALL 2020-2021

Kindergarten Super Tap
Welcome to Tapestry Charter School’s Super Subject update!

         At Tapestry Charter School
         Students in kindergarten usually have seven SUPER SUBJECTS
         built into their weekly schedules and receive instruction in Art,
         Dance, Music, Theatre, Library, Physical Education and STEAM!
         During the Covid-19 school year, students will receive
         instruction, either remotely or in-person, in Physical Education
         all 3 trimesters and 2 of the 3 trimesters in Art, Dance, Music,
         Library, Wellness and STEAM.
         Based on New York State Standards, Super Subjects provide students with an
         opportunity to explore, create, work both independently and collaboratively,
         and build foundational skills in the arts, literacy, science, physical education
         and wellness.

DANCE
 FROM: MS. DEBORAH LIPA-CIOTTA

Through creative movement, kindergarten dancers have
been working on getting familiar with the dancing in their
classroom or dancing remotely at home, learning class
protocols, and dancing safely in our spaces. Each class
begins with a beautiful BrainDance that emphasizes the Elements of Dance (Space, Time,
Force, Body) as a warm up and introduce concepts and the language of dance. Creative
movement for our kindergarten classes includes dancing nursery rhymes, stories, the
alphabet, number and geometric shapes in our bodies and folk dances. This approach
connects the NYS Kindergarten Standards for ELA, Math and Dance. In addition to
creative exploration, our kindergarteners are developing strong bodies through new
technique skills and building foundational dance knowledge. Bravo to all our dancers for
their hard work and perseverance!

                                          PHYSICAL EDUCATION
                        FROM: MS. KATIE WRATTEN AND MR. DAWAN JONES

  During the first trimester both remote and in-person students have worked on traveling
  using a variety of locomotor skills (running, skipping, galloping, sliding, hopping) in
  general space and personal space. Students performed these locomotor skills traveling in
  a variety of pathways including straight, zig zag and curved in order to gain a better
  understanding of directions. Students enjoyed working to develop their knowledge and
  understanding of movement concepts while also learning fundamental skills. A key term
  that aided the successful performance of a locomotor skill was “opposition,” which was
  a primary cue in the unit. Students participated in several activities exploring these fun
  concepts. During our outdoor P.E. classes, our in-person students were able to apply
  these skills with tag games such as: pool noodle tag, freeze tag, tv tag and pac man tag.

  Students also learned about the 5 food groups through the MyPlate program which
  incorporates fruits, vegetables, proteins, dairy and grains. MyPlate focuses on finding a
  healthy eating style that works for your family and fits with your everyday life. The
  MyPlate icon is a reminder to make healthy choices from each of the five food groups.
  Each week we focused on 1 of the 5 groups, talked about what types of foods are in each
  group and how many servings we should have each day. We learned what valuable
  nutrients are in these food groups including vitamins, minerals, calcium and
  phytonutrients that help keep our bodies healthy and strong. Students learned that there
  are many small nutritional changes you can make, that add up to big successes over
  time.

LIBRARY
                                             FROM: MS. JENNIFER CHAPMAN
                   Our kindergarten library learning goals this fall included practice
                   scissor cutting, using class materials correctly, following a sequence
                   of directions, identifying the author and illustrator in a book, making
                   predictions when reading a story, retelling a story and decode new
                   words. We started the year off reading the story Little Elliot Big City
                   by Mike Curato and talked about perseverance, making new friends
                   and how much we love cupcakes! After reading No Dragons for Tea!
                   by Jean Pendziwol, students made fire trucks and talked about fire
                   safety. They then created their own leaf people and animals
                   including colorful backgrounds for the Leaf Man story we read by
                   Lois Ehlert. There was a lot of scary fun and cutting practice after
                   we read Creepy Carrots by Aaron Reynolds and practice retelling a
                   story in order after reading The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid
                   of Anything by Linda Williams. We also listened to Turkey Trouble by
                   Wendi Silvano, and finished up with talking about gratitude and
                   being thankful after reading The Thank You Book by Mo Willems.

WELLNESS
FROM: MS. TERRA BIALY

This year we added Wellness, a new Super Subject focusing on
SEL (Social Emotional Learning) and the techniques of
mindfulness and yoga. Ms. Terra who has been our theatre
teacher at Tapestry for over ten years completed her 200 hour Yoga teacher training this
year. We wanted to offer our K-4 students both in-person and remote, an opportunity to
develop a regular yoga practice and expand on the mindfulness and social emotional
learning that is embedded in our classrooms. In the first trimester our kindergarten
students focused on identify emotions in themselves and others, recognize how
emotions can affect behavior and using yoga and breathing techniques to manage
emotions. We read and discussed several stories that looked at themes of identifying
emotions, dealing with emotions, showing empathy, and the importance of kindness
(The Day You Begin by Jaqueline Woodson, Love by Matt De La Pena, Grumpy Monkey By
Suzanne Lang, The Color Monster by Anna Llenas, Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall).
Students engaged in a weekly yoga practice led by Ms. Terra. In addition to the teacher-
led yoga, students enjoyed participating in Cosmic Kids Yoga. Each yoga practice was
embedded with a theme that connected to the social emotional learning target. Yoga is
an excellent way of engaging the mind and body and Ms. Terra has been working with
students to develop a home yoga practice that they can share with their families.

STEAM
FROM: MS. MELISSA LEOPARD

STEAM class with kindergarteners began with weather
and maps. For both remote and in-person students we
identified different tools that help us predict the
weather. From thermometers to weather satellites, our
kindergartners identified these tools that help us
predict weather. Our kindergartners then identified how
a weather map shows us weather patterns.
Kindergartners were encouraged to create their own
maps, using squiggles and symbols to identify landmarks. After completion of weather
and maps, we moved on to the forces of push and pull. Kindergarteners used a variety
of tools to express a push or a pull. We created paper airplanes, showing the difference
of force when thrown.

                                                                            MUSIC
                                                      FROM: MS. MARIE MEALER

                    Ms. Marie was able to introduce herself to our kindergarten classes
                    this trimester with special morning crew lessons incorporating SEL
                    and music concepts. She looks forward to in-person and remote
                    music classes with all our kindergarten students trimesters 2 and 3.

   ART
   FROM: MS. BROOKE FAWLEY

   Ms. Brooke assisted in many of our kindergarten Super Subject
   classes this trimester and was able to get to know our wonderful
   new students. She is looking forward to creating and making art
   with all our kindergarteners starting trimester 2 and continuing
   until the end of the school year. Keep a look out for some
   exciting art projects!